


The Second Kiss

by Missne



Category: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Arguing, Boys Kissing, Cursing! This is Reno after all, Held Down, M/M, it's all very mild but yay for tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-24
Updated: 2012-10-24
Packaged: 2017-11-16 23:01:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/544791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missne/pseuds/Missne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rude and Reno share a kiss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Second Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> This work has previously been up on fanfiction.net, by me, so if it's recognized, that'll surely be it.
> 
> I don't own these gorgeous characters, Square Enix does, I just borrow them and make them dance.

Reno sat hunched over at his kitchen table, eyes locked on the glass in front of him, fidgeting in his seat. The orange juice circled in the glass, not quite settled from the last gulp just yet, and a pale finger traces the rim. There's nothing seductive about the movement, it's just a nervous tick. Just one circle around, then the hand is pulled back, arms crossed, followed by a frown.

"So why are you still here?" he asks, not even sparing a glance at the large figure by the counter. "Don't you have paperwork to do or something?"

A slight shift in the stance, but no words. Even the breathing was silent.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me? Get the fuck out!"

Reno slammed his hands on the table and pushed the chair backwards as he stood up, walking into the living room and avoiding the unrelenting stone gaze of his partner. He flopped himself down on the couch, pulling his legs up in front of him, and turned on the TV. After a few seconds he realized that nothing had stirred in the kitchen, and with an almost invisible pout he turned the volume up louder than necessary, as if to drown out the silent blame he could feel coming from the opening into the kitchen.

Rude watched him leave the room, fiery mane swirling behind him, and heard the way he slammed himself down onto the couch. He systematically walked himself through the events that had led him here, and with a slight sting he realized that trying to talk to his partner – which was hard enough in any situation – about something as serious as this – not that Reno had a clue – might have been handled smoother if he didn't put on his armor the first thing he did when he woke up. The expensive black suit might not be able to stop bullets, but it did a spectacular job at stopping emotions. He heard the TV being turned up childishly loud, and sighed silently to himself. Taking off the sunglasses, setting them neatly on the counter, he decided to try a different approach.

Stepping through the doorway to where Reno was still sitting, curled up and frowning, he walked over to the TV and shut it off.

"Hey, what the fuck! I was watching that, you oaf, get your hands off it!" Reno flailed his arms around, the remote accusingly pointed at Rude, and made a move to get up from the couch, no doubt to stalk back into the kitchen to avoid the encounter altogether.

He was stopped mid step by Rude grabbing his waist with both large hands, simply walking him backwards, and shoving him back into place on the couch.

"Oy, get your hands OFF me, fucker! Who do you think you are?!"

More flailing, but more about dignity than anger, Rude could tell. So, not one for doing things halfheartedly, he simply pushed Reno's knees out of the way and straddled his legs on the couch, the suit pants stretching uncomfortably, but the movement causing the slimmer man to be completely pinned down beneath him, with nowhere else to look than into his eyes.

"Reno."

With one word, Rude pleaded. The sunglasses off, every emotion he had was clearly written in his eyes, and Reno immediately shut his own eyes and stopped struggling. If there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was Rude in serious mode. He strived every day to keep the partnership light, casual, and easygoing. Yes, they needed to trust each other with their lives, but that didn't mean anything more than physical safety – it didn't mean he was responsible for any kind of feelings that might show up. That just wasn't the kind of responsibility he was willing to take on, never had, never would, nuh uh.

"Reno, look at me."

Thin arms tried crossing over an equally thin chest, but there was a broad body in the way, so the arms went back to hanging limply over Rude's thighs. One large, tan hand moved up to the narrow jawline of the redhead, gripping it carefully but determinedly, tilting it upwards.

"Look at me."

The blue eyes flickered across his face once, widened a bit at the steady gaze, then flickered back to the side.

"What do you want?" Reno was trying his best to keep his voice low and indifferent, but even without years of experience of knowing his every mood, Rude could still have seen his lower lip tremble with insecurity.

The fingers holding his chin let go, a heavy hand falling between them, broad chest heaving with a sigh.

"I..." Rude began, hesitantly. This was it, if he fucked this up... "I don't think that it was a mistake."

He could feel Reno freeze in place beneath him, he probably didn't even have half a second to continue before the redhead would shoot something back that would stop him dead in his tracks, so he rushed to continue:

"I wanted this. I wanted you, Reno. I've wanted you for so long, and last night... There was no mistake with what I did. What we did. I..." He trailed off again, not used to spilling so many words at once, not used to being the one of the two that kept the talk going.

"Look at you." The pleading tone was back, urging his partner to see what he saw in him.

Reno scoffed, shifting his torso, began to argue with his body before the words even spilled out.

"What the fuck do you mean, look at me? Huh? Fine, I'm looking." Raising his arms, looking pointedly up and down from dirty nails to scarred forearms to too thin shoulders, giving an exasperated shrug. "I'm looking, alright? And all I fucking see is scars, Rude. That's it. On the surface, and all the way down to whatever is supposed to be in there. There's nothing there, Rude, nothing, and there never was. You've seen me, you've seen more of me than anyone has ever seen, and you're asking me to look at myself? Fuck, partner, I never pegged you for a cruel bastard..."

"Reno-"

"No, Rude, no! You know what? You have no fucking right to do this to me!" Making a move to rise up, Rude stayed firm, knowing it would come to this eventually. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"

Reno snapped, finally, and exploded under him. Strong, tanned hands held deceivingly fragile looking shoulders in place, eyes tightly closed, head turned to the side to avoid the hits. He sat heavy on his partner, his strong, beautiful, redhead partner, taking every cursed word and every emotion thrown at him with the only defense he had, the calm resolve he had cultivated over years with the Turks. The slim body was bucking beneath him, fighting with a mix of Turk techniques and childish fervor, desperately writhing to get released, but held helplessly in place until he fell back again, sweaty, panting, with a last punch to Rude's steely abs.

"Fuck, Rude..." His voice was nothing but a murmur, between deep breaths, and Rude could feel more than see the redheads throat finally clench, the down turned eyes water, and the first sob wrack his body.

The strong hands slid down along Reno's sides, wrapping around his chest, pulling him up against Rude's own, leaning the smaller man's head against his shoulder, stroking his back as Reno collapsed into sadness, tears streaming down his face. Running one hand up into the bright red hair, he cupped the back of his partners head, mumbling soothing nonsense, his chest rumbling.

"That's not what I see, Reno." His dark voice broke the silence after Reno's outburst, not much louder than the dying sobs. "That's not what I see at all."

There was no fight left in the body below him, so he slid off to the side, pulling the still seemingly boneless Reno with him, propping him up in his lap, nuzzling his face into the flaming red strands.

"You wanna know what I see?"

He waited for an answer. He waited, because he needed Reno to want to hear this, he needed to know that he wasn't just sharing information to deaf ears. He never would have thought himself to be in this situation in the first place, but now that he was, he needed to make sure this was handled right. They had been partners for many years, and every day, every mission, was executed with lethal flawlessness between the two. They matched each other perfectly, and Rude knew all too well that he was one of few, if not the _only_ person that Reno fully trusted. He couldn't risk that trust by suddenly blabbing on about emotions he never shared before to Reno in this vulnerable state.

A big, tan hand moved back to Reno's narrow jaw, this time softly cupping it, but still making sure their eyes met.

"What..." Reno croaked, coughing a little, throat sore from his outburst. "What do you see?"

Blue, reddened eyes met his brown, head on. Insecure, but steady, and Rude found it to be himself that had problems keeping eye contact this time around. He swallowed.

"I see the most beautiful man I've ever seen." One thick thumb pressed against Reno's lips stopped the immediate argument from being voiced.

"I see independence. I see insecurity. I see the brightest red hair that Gaia has ever created, on the brightest head anyone could ever wish for." He paused a moment, wetting his lips. "I see loyalty, and trust. I see sex appeal..."–another pause, the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly, making Reno blush with a wry grin–"...and I see love."

Reno's eyes widened a fraction, but he didn't look away. Rude stayed silent this time, gauging his partners reactions carefully. After a few seconds of silence, he began to regret that he said anything, nervously swallowed, and broke the eye contact to glance down at Reno's parted lips. In a do-or-die move, he leaned down to capture them in a tentative kiss.

Their mouths meshed flawlessly, and it felt _so right_. Reno latched on to his lower lip as Rude ran his tongue over Reno's upper, and as their tongues touched the kiss deepened until they were both out of breath, hands tangling in each other's clothes.

It was as if the awkward yet oh so breathtaking kiss they had drunkenly and mistakenly shared last night hadn't been the first at all.


End file.
